When to Keep Your Child Home

The following symptoms may suggest a communicable disease. Children
who have the following symptoms should be kept home from school until a
doctor has seen them, they no longer have symptoms indicating a
communicable disease or they have received treatment for at least 24
hours for certain diseases.

Fever

Oral
temperature 100 degrees F. or higher. If fever accompanied by a sore
throat, strep throat may be ruled out with a throat culture at your
doctors. If your child has strep throat they may return to school no
sooner than 24 hrs after treatment has started or later if they are not
well enough to return to a normal school day. If high fever accompanied
by a very stiff neck or undiagnosed rash also check with your doctor.

Respiratory Symptoms

Severe
coughing continuing over 3 days, can’t sleep or lie down because of
continuous coughing, or a high-pitched whooping sound when coughing, or
vomiting with coughing. These symptoms may indicate Whooping Cough. A
doctors visit and a culture is required to confirm the diagnosis and the
child may not return to school till a full course of treatment is
completed.

Vomiting And Diarrhea

Two or
more episodes in the past 24 hours or a child who is experiencing
headaches, fever or chill with one episode. Stay home until symptoms are
absent for 24 hrs.

Skin Problems

Rashes
and infected sores: Need to be checked out and diagnosed and treated by a
doctor. Many skin rashes are very contagious (impetigo, scabies,
chickenpox, rash may indicate Fifths Disease or Hand and Mouth disease).
Student once diagnosed needs to be free of rash. In the case of
impetigo they need to receive treatment for 24 hrs and they can return
to school. (Preferably with scabbed over sores covered with clothes or
band- aids).

Eyes

Pink eye, or
conjunctivitis appears as a pinkish sclera (white of the eye), usually
itchy and painful. Crust may form on the eye- lids during the night. A
visit to the doctor is needed to confirm pink eye and treatment for
24hours prior to student returning to school.

Lice

Once
lice or nits are found on a student, the student needs to be treated
for lice, prior to returning to school. Please let school nurse know if
you find lice on your student at home, we will go through the steps with
you to eradicate the problem.